Norway has a new king after the death of Harald V, with his only son, Crown Prince Haakon, taking the throne at age 53.
Haakon Magnus was born on July 20, 1973, and has spent much of his adult life preparing for the role. Known for his relatively low-key public image, he has pursued military service, higher education and interests that are far removed from traditional royal life.
From naval officer to future king
Haakon attended a public primary school, reflecting Norway’s relatively egalitarian approach to royalty, before continuing his secondary education at a private school.
He later served in the Norwegian Navy and went on to study political science at the University of California, Berkeley. He subsequently earned a master’s degree in development studies from the London School of Economics.
Away from official duties, Haakon has long had a passion for music and surfing. He has even said that, had he not been born into the royal family, he might have tried to become a professional surfer.
A marriage that initially divided opinion
Haakon met Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby at a music festival in Kristiansand in 1999. Their relationship attracted considerable attention because Mette-Marit was a commoner and a single mother with a young son.
The couple married in 2001 and went on to have two children.
Their family has since faced significant controversy. Correspondence between Crown Princess Mette-Marit and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein became public after the release of documents by US authorities.
At the same time, her son, Marius Borg Høiby, faced criminal proceedings over rape and domestic violence allegations, which he denied. He was convicted on some of the charges in June and sentenced to four years in prison. Both Høiby and prosecutors have appealed the sentence.
Haakon has publicly supported his wife while maintaining that his stepson must be held accountable through the justice system like any other citizen. He also expressed sympathy for the alleged victims.
What will he be called?
Norway’s new monarch will formally confirm his regnal name at an extraordinary Council of State.
He is widely expected to follow his father’s example and retain his given name, becoming King Haakon VIII.
Norwegian monarchs do not use a family surname.
Princess Ingrid Alexandra becomes heir
With Haakon now king, his 22-year-old daughter, Princess Ingrid Alexandra, becomes Norway’s heir apparent.
She could eventually make history as the country’s first female head of state in centuries. Norway changed its succession rules in 1990 to give the eldest child, regardless of gender, priority in the line of succession.
Her younger brother, Prince Sverre Magnus, 20, is next in line after her.
Sverre Magnus became internationally known as a child after performing the “dab” during Norway’s national day celebrations in 2017.
Marius Borg Høiby, despite being the eldest child in the wider family, is not part of the royal line of succession.
A king with deep European roots
Haakon is the fourth Norwegian king since the country became fully independent from Sweden in 1905.
His great-grandfather, Haakon VII, deliberately adopted the name to connect the modern Norwegian monarchy with the country’s medieval kings. Norway had spent centuries under Danish and then Swedish rule before achieving independence in 1905.
The Norwegian royal family is also closely connected to other European dynasties.
Haakon VII was the brother of Denmark’s king when Norway’s parliament invited him to become its monarch. His wife, Queen Maud, was the daughter of Britain’s King Edward VII and a granddaughter of Queen Victoria.
That makes King Haakon VIII a great-great-great-grandson of Queen Victoria.
Now, after more than five decades as a prince and heir, Haakon takes on the responsibility his father carried for more than 30 years, beginning a new era for Norway’s monarchy.
